What do they do?

Monitoringandinvestigationof the sexual exploitation of children andassociated trafficking ; evidence collection and subsequent liaison with national and international law enforcement authorities for victim and prosecutorial actions against perpetrators. APLE investigators are active on the streets of three major tourist destinations (Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville, Siem Reap), and 19 other provinces during night and day, conducting proactive and reactive investigations into suspected incidents of child sexual abuse. Occasionally, the target areas of investigations also cover neighbouring Thailand, Vietnam and Laos. Between 2003 and 2013, a total of 562 children were rescued as a result of APLE’s efforts.

Legal protection, representation and assistance for child victims and their families: APLE lawyers and legal-assistants not only assist and represent victims, witnesses and their families who are mostly from impoverished backgrounds all the way through legal proceedings free of charge; they also conduct pro-active awareness raising activities within vulnerable groups and communities. The goal here is to increase knowledge about children’s legal rights. From 2003 until 2013, APLE’s legal team assisted 501 victims with legal proceedings and gave support to 442 in 2012, from which 79 were new victims that year.

Establishmentanddevelopment of psychological, social and rehabilitationservices for child victims and their families. After rescue or once a child is identified to have been victimized, in order to prevent victims from further trauma, we provide counselling and support to make sure they receive the necessary care and rehabilitation. APLE social workers support the victims and their families over many months or years to guarantee successful rehabilitation and prevent re-victimization. The social department also conducts counselling and awareness activities among vulnerable children, groups and communities in order to increase their capacity to protect themselves and prevent further abuse. In 2012, APLE assisted victims on 683 different occasions, from which 106 victims were new victims that year.

Initiation of, and participation in advocacy and lobbying activities to increase attention for sexual exploitation of children and associated trafficking, and to improve the culture of impunity. APLE holds and participates in meetings and workshops, giving presentations of its work in various locations and countries. APLE promotes consistent implementation of the existing laws to its full extent and lobbies for the creation of new laws to close loop-holes or those as a necessary result of societal developments. APLE also lobbies for banning extra-judicial settlements as a means to avoid prosecution and for continuing prosecution of exploitation in case these settlements have been made.

Conduct of training programs aimed at building investigative and prosecutorial capacities of Cambodian law enforcement authorities; raising public awareness about the sexual exploitation of children and associated trafficking among vulnerable groups, NGO personnel and members of civil society. The training programs enable people to identify the danger signs and report suspected cases to APLE and/or police, who can then take the appropriate action to protect affected children and family members. Over the last 5 years, our awareness activities with the aim to prevent abuse have reached tens of thousands of individuals.

EXO Foundation support

In 2013, we made a $2 000 donation, $4,000 in 2014, $5,000 in 2015to this organisation which is desperately needed to assist victims of rape and human trafficking. They carry out essential work in close collaboration with local authorities and we are proud to support them.

We have also worked with them in developing ad-hoc conferences for travelers who want to know more about these issues (human trafficking, judiciary system, police investigations, criminal prosecution, etc.). This way they can gain a unique and profound understanding of one of the key issues in the region.

Since 2012 we donated a total of $21,0000.

How can you help?

Ask to attend a conference organized specifically for your group (starting from 10 persons).

First of all, APLE relies on your donations for being able to work for the better future of vulnerable children, as their former main Spanish sponsor had to significantly decreased its contribution.

MAKE SURE YOU MAKE YOUR DONATION TO THE RIGHT WEBSITE AS NETWORKS OF PAEDOPHILES HAVE SEVERAL TIMES HACKED THEIR WEBSITE OR CREATED FAKE ONES TO DESTROY THEIR CREDIBILITY AND / OR DERIVE YOUR DONATION; THE OFFICIAL ONE IS http://aplecambodia.org/.

Your donation directly benefits their needs:

US$ 30 enables a medical examination of a child which can be used as forensic evidence in court.

US$ 94 funds an awareness campaign on one tuk-tuk with banner (including printing and annual allowance for driver) for one year to promote APLE’s hotline 092 311 511 to report abuse.US$ 250 pays the salary of a child protection agent for one month.US$ 260 is the average cost to secure free legal representation to one victim at the first court of instance.US$ 450 buys a good camera for use during investigations.US$ 620 prints 200 t-shirts (1 unit $3.10) with educational messages, to be handed out during awareness and training campaigns.US$ 800 is needed to buy a tuk-tuk for use during investigations, transportation of persons and materials to courts, and to conduct awareness and training activities around town or nearby provinces.US$ 7 890 is the average amount needed each month to run operations of the Siem Reap branch, which covers 8 provinces and Laos.US$ 8 050 is the average amount needed each month to run operations of the Sihanoukville branch, which covers 5 provinces and Thailand.US$ 23 450 is the average amount needed each month to run all operations of the Phnom Penh branch, which covers 6 provinces and Vietnam.